IDF would like to thank the HPLE Steering Committee for providing this opportunity to comment. Please find below some comments and suggestions for consideration in the report.
The overarching issue in this report shall be to assess the influence of various types of food systems on diets, nutrition and health.
This is indeed a very interesting topic. It is well known that food and eating environments are likely to contribute to the increasing epidemic of obesity and several other chronic diseases, over and above individual factors such as knowledge, skills, and motivation. In many countries, environmental and policy interventions may be one of the most effective strategies for creating an influence on eating patterns. Therefore the current report could encompass an ecological framework for conceptualizing various food environments and conditions currently existing in countries across the globe, which influence food choices. Important issues for consideration would be access to food among low- income and minority groups.
When considering the ecological framework, we would like to suggest the following:
- Study the eating behavior among vulnerable groups. Eating behavior as such is highly complex and is influenced by multiple factors in different scenarios. An ecological approach would be useful to guide research and intervention efforts related to eating behavior because of the emphasis on multilevel linkages, the relationships among the multiple factors that impact health and nutrition, and the focus on the connections between people and their environments (Story et al. 2008).
- Individual-level factors related to food choices and eating behaviors include cognitions, behaviors, and biological and demographic factors.
- Macro level environmental factors within the larger society such as food marketing, social norms, food production and distribution systems, agriculture policies, and economic price structures.
Malnutrition is a global issue. The nutrition focus shall include malnutrition in all its forms, including under nutrition, over nutrition and micro nutrient deficiencies.
- Here we would like to emphasise to focus on stunting and wasting as other organizations like WHO are already addressing obesity issues.
- Consider key determinants, factors and components of a sustainable diet (FAO, 2015)
§ Well-being, health : disease burden of population, consumption/eating patterns, lifestyle patterns
§ Food and nutrient needs, food security, accessibility: quantities of foods consumed and produced, amount of nutrients consumed, quality of the diet (in terms of calories consumed, sugars, sodium intake, saturated fats, vitamins, minerals, fibre)
§ Cultural, heritage factors: diverse diets, giving examples such as Mediterranean diet, Traditional menus, knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and practices of various population groups, consumer education and vegetarian eating patterns.
§ Eco-friendly local seasoned foods: water used for irrigation, diversity of crops in various regions
§ Biodiversity, climate change: ecosystems in countries, marketing of foods
§ Globalisation and trade : evaluate food purchasing capacity among different income level groups, role of stakeholders (agriculture producers, processors, consumers etc)
The above points would cover some of the issues highlighted by the HLPE Steering Committee as mentioned in the Issues note.
References
M Story, KM Kaphingst, R Robinson-O'Brien and K Glanz (2008) Creating Healthy Food and Eating Environments: Policy and Environmental Approaches. Annual Review of Public Health. Vol. 29: 253- 272.
FAO Report (2015). The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2015. 1-62. http://www.fao.org/3/a- i4646e.pdf
Pratima Jasti